The Desatoya Mountains are located in central

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the western

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, approximately 117 miles east of

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

by road. The range runs in a southwest-northeasterly direction along the border of

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

and Lander counties, reaching a maximum elevation of (3041 m) at Desatoya Peak near Rock Creek Canyon.

Geography

The range is separated from the

Paradise Range The Paradise Range is a mountain range in Nye County, Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, Californi ...

in the south by Burnt Cabin Summit at the

Nye County Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...

line, near the sites of Chalk Wells and Phonolite, and from the

New Pass Range The New Pass Range is a mountain range in Lander and Churchill counties of Nevada. The range is a north-south trending range which straddles the Lander-Churchill county boundary for about . The highest peak, New Pass Peak, has an elevation of . US ...

in the north by New Pass along

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

.''Nevada Atlas & Gazetteer'', 2001, pgs. 44 & 45 It is traversed by three routes:

Trans mountain navigation

* The Old Overland Road between Smith Creek Valley and Edwards Creek Valley crosses the northern end of the range by way of Basque Summit at an elevation of 7,625 feet following the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pi ...

route. * Nevada State Highway 722 crosses the range to the south by way of Carroll Summit at an elevation of 7,425 feet. * The third route splits off of Highway 722 approximately three miles east of Eastgate, heading southeast along Buffalo Creek, and crosses the range over Buffalo Summit (south of Carroll Summit) at an elevation of 7,021 feet. This road eventually reaches the former Nye county seat of Ione by way of Phonolite.

History

The Desatoya Mountains set the backdrop for both the

Cold Springs Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

and Smith Creek Pony Express stations; the Cold Springs Pony Express Station and the

Pony Express National Historic Trail The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

lie at the western edge of the range, whereas the Smith Creek Pony Express Station is situated at the eastern base on the edge of Smith Creek Valley.''The Pony Express in Nevada'', a BLM Publication (BLM/NV/GI-97/005+8300)

The etymology of the name ''Desatoya''

The precise

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

and

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the name ''Desatoya'' is unclear: whereas ...'toya' derives from the Shoshone word ''toyap'' (mountain), 'desa'... has been multifariously interpreted as 'short, low,' 'big-black,' and 'cold.'''Nevada Place Names'', Reno, 1974, p. 96 Early documents record the range's name variously as the Lookout Range or the Sedaye Mountains, ''sedaye'' purportedly being an Indian word meaning 'no good.'

References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Churchill County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Nevada Pony Express